This invention is concerned with a cheap and simple method of manufacturing high quality methanesulphonyl chloride from.
A mixture of methane, sulfur dioxide gas and chlorine gas under irradiation of light. It has been known up to now that the methanesulfonyl chloride was manufactured from oxidation of methylmercaptan by chlorine gas under existence of water.
The reaction equation is given by the following chemical formula (1): EQU CH.sub.3 SH+3Cl.sub.2 +2H.sub.2 O.fwdarw.CH.sub.3 SO.sub.2 Cl+5H.sub.2 O(1)
However, this manufacturing method shown by the chemical formula (1) is not practical, because it has the following defects
(a) raw material used in this method is expensive. PA0 (b) methylmercaptan is used as raw material, acts as a source of bad odour. PA0 (c) Only 1/6 of chlorine gas used for the raw materials is converted into methanesulfonyl chloride, and 5/6 of the chlorine gas is spent as hydrogen chloride.